Leave

STELLA shook her head and received the plate back. "Thank…you."

Valeric watched her quietly munch on the crackers and suddenly pressed a thumb to the dried tear below her left eye. He stared at her, and his eyes momentarily went distant and unfocused.  

"How many siblings do you have?"

"D-don't you already know?" Her left eye twitched a little at the rub of his calloused thumb.  

"I didn't pay attention."  

Either way, she responded, "Two. Just two sisters." 

"Are you the oldest?" 

"No. I'm the middle child."  

"I see." Valeric let go and leaned back against his seat with crossed legs. He began to watch her.

Stella's line of sight would constantly cross with his, and she was a bit uncomfortable with the way he wasn't doing anything other than watching her as if she were a movie. "Aren't you…going to eat?"  

"No." He said, "I'm not hungry." 

"Okay," she mumbled under her breath and ate the full fork of pasta that she'd scooped up.  

Valeric still didn't keep his eye off her, not even for a fleeting moment. He stared with a half-mix of fascination and curiosity that raised confusion within her.  

This fascination wasn't like anything she had ever seen in anyone. The others had shone a slick observation and, ultimately, something akin to gauging her worth. But Valeric… this man looked at her like... she was something rare, something he could study all day and strangely never figure out. 

She hastily looked away and avoided his gaze.  

"Welcome back, sir," a voice spoke, prompting her to raise her head at the very sound of unfamiliar footsteps. 

Right in front of Valeric, a young man who looked to be in his late twenties stood with his body hunched and a hand on his chest. He was swathed in a tailored dark-colored suit and a crisp white dress shirt, giving him the appearance of a butler. 

His brown hair fell in a bang over his face, and his amber eyes rose, crossing with her blue ones. 

"This is Theo, my personal butler," Valeric introduced with an indifferent voice. "He'll always be here if you ever need an assistant." 

Stella cleared her throat. "That's fine. I have Alex with me. He's enough to help." 

The glass cup Valeric had in his hand broke into pieces, and the red liquid poured all over his pants.

"I didn't ask," he said with a voice as cold as ice. 

She looked at him, and they both sat, scanning each other stonily. With a look of finality in his eyes, he broke the silence by standing up and walking away with heavy steps. 

Stella blinked rapidly, wondering what she could have done wrong. She was merely stating that he didn't need to hand his butler over to her. Alex was enough. Would he always find fault in every word she utters? Is his patience and tolerance running out? And when they do, would he—

"Young miss." Through the opened door of the dining room, Alex strode in and approached the table. He bowed respectfully with a light smile and his worried eyes rose to look at her. "Has he hurt you in any way?" 

Stella shook her head. "No. but…It would only be a matter of time, right? I wouldn't be any different, would I?"  

Alex disagreed, "You'll be fine, young miss." He stood up and leaned in to whisper to her, "I'll make sure to get you out of here soon. He won't get the chance to give you the same fate he gave the other omegas."  

"There is a reason why I came here with you, after all." 

She instantly shot up to her feet and grabbed his hand. She pulled him out of the dining room and away to an enclosed place where they could talk more secretly. 

"What are you trying to do, Alex?" 

"I'm going to find a way to get you out of here," Alex said to her. "Your family may not care for you, but I do. I always have, so you can't have your life thrown away like this. I'll find a way to get you out of here, somewhere far and where neither he nor your family would ever find you. Somewhere, you'll be happy." 

"Do you think that is even possible?" Stella chuckled pitifully to herself, completely finding his words ridiculous. "Do you think there is anywhere on this earth that I would run to and he wouldn't find me? Alex, he's Valeric Jones. The entire werewolf race is in the palms of his royal family. You know that." 

She breathed shakily and grabbed his shoulders. "If he were merely a standard alpha, I would have saved myself one way or another. But he's Valeric, the only existing supreme alpha above standard alphas. I'm scared… Alex. The mere sound of his voice makes me feel like I'm drowning in the cold sea. I don't know… I don't know how to be careful with him. Who knows when he'll snap and get rid of me like he'd done the others?" 

"He's a complicated man." 

"Then what about Vincent?" Alex asked quietly. "Wouldn't you leave with him if he eventually came for you?" 

The slow whirr of Stella's brain caught up after a second of daze, and she blinked away. "Would he even still want me when he finds out that I've been married off?" 

Alex's jaw tightened. 

"And why wouldn't he?" He frowned deeply and adjusted the pair of glasses that rested on the bridge of his nose. "Young Miss, you didn't want this. Your family forced it. You didn't have a choice. No one can resist that man. He's someone who gets what he wants one way or another. You didn't have a choice, Vincent has to understand this." 

Stella staggered backward, anxiously glanced around, and hesitantly walked away with her arms wrapped around her body. Alex watched her, and his fingers clenched into his palms, his teeth gritting in frustration. 

"Young Miss, wa-"

"Just go, Alex. Leave."